On May 4, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Simon ruled that the federal government’s plan to recover Columbia-Snake Basin salmon violates the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act. This is the fifth time the court has ruled the federal plan illegal for not doing enough to protect and restore endangered salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Join us in calling on President Obama, and Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, to crack down on deadbeat dams, beginning with four especially harmful, federally operated dams on the lower Snake River in Southeastern Washington: Ice Harbor Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, Little Goose Dam and Lower Granite Dam.

“Hundreds of thousands of adult salmon died last summer because of warm water in the Columbia and Snake reservoirs. The Court’s sharp rejection of yet another illegal federal plan for operating the dams on these rivers amplifies the clear warning that management of these dams must change dramatically—and very quickly—if wild salmon are to inhabit these rivers in the future. It’s time to finally get this right. We need to seriously consider a plan that retires and removes the four lower Snake River dams. Only action on this scale has the potential to allow wild salmon to survive and recover in light of the vivid threat they face from a warming climate.”— Todd True, Earthjustice attorney for salmon and river advocates

Dams impede the salmon’s migratory route, making their miraculous journey—downstream to the ocean and upstream to spawn the next generation—impossibly difficult. Since the completion of these massive dams, salmon populations on the Snake River have plummeted by more than 90 percent.

Removing the four high-cost dams on the lower Snake River is the single largest step we can take for salmon recovery. It's long past time we clear the path to true recovery, and it’s time to take action now. Let’s free the Snake River.

Thank you for adding your voice! Please share with your networks, together we can save our wild Snake River salmon.

Want to do more? A phone call from you to President Obama (202.456.1111) and Senators Cantwell (206.220.6400) and Murray (206.553.5545) is the most powerful way to get their support for Snake River dam removal.